Great North Run 2009 - It's over!

The race is done. Wow!! How hard was that? The day started badly for me. I woke up with such a sore lower back that I could hardly walk and couldn't bend properly. Many pain killers later and following a small amount of breakfast (forced down!) I still couldn't walk properly and was almost crying with the pain in my back. I had to hobble to the start just hoping that the sunshine and the painkillers would help my back to loosen up. I was clearly tense and nervous. I tried to do some stretches when Mr Motivator was warming the runners up prior to race start. That didn't work too well. Then I spotted my shoe lace was untied and struggled like crazy to bend down to re-tie it. Anyway as the race started I was so far back and in such a big crowd that I didn't move for a few mins. We then started a slow walk which became a faster walk, then a very slow jog and finally we reached the *start* line. Yes the START line!!. Then I was off and running properly and amazed to find that my back pain was not hurting half as much as I expected it to. As my blood started pumping and my body temperature rose the back pain eased more and more. I started to feel good and think things were going well........then I tripped over a kerb edge and fell quite hard onto my upper back. Suffice to say it is very scratched and bruised as was my hip, my elbow and my ankle. Oh dear!!. Amazingly this kick started my adrenalin and I bounded back onto my feet and started running far too fast. I realised my pace was too fast as I was wearing my sports GPS watch, so I slowed down. The next few miles were not too noteworthy except to say that the course was like one big uphill stretch. The heat was intense and the mass of runners made finding an even pace\rhythm very difficult. After 10 miles I was spent. My body was struggling to keep going. By 11 miles we reached a big hill and every ounce of me wanted to stop and walk but that wasn't part of the plan. Instead I resigned myself to not setting the time I had hoped for and just kept shuffling along in a slow run. We crested the hill and saw the sea. It felt like the end was in sight. A difficult run down a steep hill to the sea front at South Shields followed. My calves threatened to cramp up but somehow didn't. The last 1000M was really tiring but the crowd was massive and the cheering really lifted my spirits. I managed to grind out the last stretch and came home in 2 hrs and 4 mins. Not bad but I so wanted to do 1 hr 55 mins or less. My worst case scenario was that I would just scrape under 2 hours but alas I missed that goal. Maybe next year!!. Straight after the race if you'd asked me "Will you do it again?" I would have said no way!! But within an hour or two I was already planning next years race and thinking about my training plan to ensure I smash my time from this year. But as for my marathon aspirations they are well and truly shelved for now at least. 26 miles seems like a step too far. I run for pleasure and relaxation not for sado-masochistic reasons. I think stepping up my training to plan for a mammoth 26 miler would take the fun out of something I really enjoy. I'd never say never!!